Official wants to keep drug trafficking convicts from recovering assets

Santo Domingo.- Justice minister Francisco Dominguez on Thursday affirmed that the authorities look for ways to prevent the return of assets seized from ex-drug trafficking convict Ernesto Bienvenido Guevara Diaz (Maconi) and prosecute him in the Dominican Republic.

In that regard, the official asked Congress to amend the law to allow the confiscation of assets of those indicted on drug trafficking after obtaining they’re release on bond, and cited the cases of Quirino Paulino and Ramon Antonio del Rosario Puente (Toño Leña), both the subject of “sweet deals” in plea bargaining in the U.S.

Dominguez, interviewed in the Senate, said the law prohibits Guevara’s arrest after his extradition from the United States and cannot be charged again.

Guevara was repatriated Wednesday after serving only four years in prison, after plea bargaining with U.S. authorities.